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Mayo has wild beauty and haunting landscapes, but you'll find few tourists here, which means there are plenty of untapped opportunities for exploration by car, foot, bicycle or horseback. Life here has never been easy and the Potato Famine (1845–51) ravaged the county and prompted mass emigration. Consequently many people with Irish ancestry around the world can trace their roots to this once-blighted land.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout County Mayo.
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An astonishing sea stack that's lashed by foaming sea, Dun Briste is Mayo's top natural sight. Legend attests that St Patrick drove all the vipers from Ireland onto the stack on Downpatrick Head, leaving the mainland snake-free. Try to choose a clear day for a visit to amplify the visuals. You can drive most of the way up to the sea edge, but then you'll need to walk the last 400m or so. Dun Briste is 6km northeast of Ballycastle.
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Lackan Bay's beach is a stunning and vast expanse of golden sand – it's particularly beautiful as the sun goes down, making it one of Ireland's most gorgeous bays. There's good surf here and plenty of places to get lost. Follow the R314 about 4.5km northwest from Killala, then turn at the signpost for Kilcummin.
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Imposing Ballintubber Abbey is the only church in Ireland founded by an Irish king that remains in use. It's reputed to have been established in 1216 next to the site of an earlier church founded by St Patrick after he came down from Croagh Patrick. Its history is tumultuous: the abbey was burned by Normans, seized by James I and suppressed by Henry VIII. It's signposted off the N84, 13km south of Castlebar.
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Just beyond Cong Abbey, the village abruptly ends and the woodlands surrounding Ashford Castle begin. First built in 1228 as the seat of the de Burgo family, owners over the years included the Guinness family (of stout fame). Arthur Guinness turned the castle into a regal hunting and fishing lodge, which it remains today. Although the only way to look inside its restored interior is to stay or dine here, the surrounding estate is open to the public.
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An exposed hillside 8km northwest of Ballycastle is home to one of the world's most extensive Stone Age monuments. So far stone-walled fields, houses and megalithic tombs – about half a million tonnes of stone – have been found, the legacy of a farming community nearly 6000 years old. The visitor centre, in a glass pyramid overlooking the site, gives a fascinating glimpse into these times. Be sure to take a guided tour of the site to fully appreciate the findings.
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Take a fascinating tour of this restored castle, built between 1825 and 1831 on the site of a medieval abbey. The castle was bought in the 1960s by fossil collector Marshall Doran, who gave it an eclectic and eccentric interior, some of it nautical (including the Spanish Armada bar). The tour also visits the Banquet Hall and Marshall Doran's collection of fossils, weaponry and armour. En route you will also encounter the last wolf shot in Connaught.
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The extensive and engrossing displays of this riverside museum delve into Ireland's fascinating rural traditions and skills. It's set in a modern, photogenic facility that overlooks a lake in the lush grounds of 19th-century Turlough Manor. A branch of the National Museum of Ireland, the museum explores everything from the role of the potato to boat building, herbal cures and traditional clothes. It has a good cafe and a shop; it's 8km northeast of Castlebar.
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St Mary's is one of Ireland's most transfixing holy wells. An apparition of the Virgin Mary has drawn pilgrims here for centuries, and today a tumbledown 18th-century chapel covers the spot. A large thorn tree, garlanded with rosary beads and crucifixes, sprouts from the roof; inside, waters spill from an old stone vault, overseen by a statue of the Virgin. St Mary's Well is a signed 1km walk from the approach road to Rosserk Abbey, off the R314.
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Built in 1730 on the ruins of Grace O'Malley's 16th-century castle, this charming Georgian mansion 2km west of the centre retains much of its original contents and has some stunning period-style rooms. Set in glorious gardens, the overall effect is marred somewhat by its commercial focus, but children love the Pirate Adventure Park, complete with a swinging pirate ship, 'pirate's playground', roller-coaster-style flume ride through a water channel, and Gracy’s Bouncy Castle.